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Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon ( Los Angeles , February 27 1923 - Philadelphia , April 25 1990 ) was an American tenor saxophonist . He is considered one of the first bebop tenor saxophonists. One from 1948 dating photo, taken during a performance at The Royal Roost, he is pictured as he smokes a cigarette. This picture would later become one of the icons from the history of jazz. Gordon was a great man of more than 1m90, hence his nickname Long Tall Dexter. In 1986 he was nominated for an Oscar for his role in the film Round Midnight. Life and Work Gordon was born and raised in Los Angeles. His father was a doctor and had Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton as a patient. Dexter learned clarinet playing at the age of thirteen, two years later, before he switched to saxophone (first alto , then tenor). He was still at school when he played in orchestras with contemporaries such asChico Hamilton and Buddy Collette . Between 1940 and 1943, Gordon was a member of Lionel Hampton's orchestra, where he collaborated with Illinois Jacquet and Marshall Royal was in the saxophone section. His first recordings under his own name he made in 1943, alongside Nat Cole and Harry Edison . He also made guest appearances with the orchestras of Louis Armstrong and Fletcher Henderson before joining Billie Eckstine went to work. In 1945 he left the orchestra Eckstine and began performing in New York , where he recorded with Charlie Parker and recordings under his own name. Gordon became known as a virtuoso on his saxophone duels with his friend and tenor saxophonist Wardell Gray . These duels were a lot of interest and left traces in several albums between 1947 and 1952. Dexter Gordons live in Amsterdam in 1980, shows the audience a tenor saxophonist whose sound is wide and spacious, thanks to his impressive physique. His tendency to slightly after the beat playing is remarkable. As one of his main influences he mentions Lester Young . In turn, he again influenced the younger John Coltrane in the 1940s and 1950s between the two tenor saxophonists is moreover there is a clear interaction. Coltrane's way of playing would equally affect Dexter Gordon from the mid fifties. Apparent similarities between their two play styles: bright, strong, metallic tones, their tendency to high notes to bend upwards and their ability to make short notes on the tongue articulated swinging. One of Gordon's idiosyncrasies was to first sing a song before playing it, a trick he had learned from Lester Young. Discography * Dexter Rides Again (1945) * The Hunt with Wardell Gray (1947) * The Chase with Wardell Gray (1947) * The Duel with Teddy Edwards (1947) * Daddy Plays the Horn (1955) * Dexter Blows Hot and Cool (1955) * The Resurgence of Dexter Gordon (Riverside, 1960) * Doin 'Allright (1961), Blue Note * Dexter Calling ... (1961), Blue Note * Go! (1962), Blue Note * A Swingin 'Affair (1962), Blue Note * Our Man in Paris (Paris 1963), Blue Note - with Bud Powell * One Flight Up (Paris, 1964) - Blue Note * King Neptune (1964) * Gettin 'Around (New York, 1965) * Tangerine (1965) * The Squirrel: Live at Montmartre (1967) * Tower of Power (1969) - with James Moody * More Power (1969) * The Panther (1970) Tommy Flanagan and Alan Dawson . Prestige Records * The Chase (1970) with Gene Ammons Prestige * The Jumpin 'Blues (1970) Wynton Kelly * Tangerine (1972) bop with Freddie Hubbard and others - Prestige Records * The Apartment (1974) - Steeplechase * Something Different (1975), Steeplechase * Bouncin 'with Dex (1975), Steeplechase * Homecoming: Live at the Village Vanguard (1976) * True Blue by Al Cohn (1976 Xanadu Records ) * Silver Blue with Al Cohn (1976 Xanadu Records) * Biting The Apple (1976) - Steeplechase * Sophisticated Giant (1977) with 11-piece big band including Woody Shaw , Slide Hampton , Bobby Hutcherson - Columbia Records * Manhattan Symphonie (1978), Columbia Records with Rufus Reid - bass, Eddie Gladden - percussion, and George Cables - keyboard * Gotham City (1980), Columbia Records * American Classic Grover Washington Jr. and Shirley Scott (1982) Elektra Entertainment * Round Midnight (1986), Columbia Records * The Other Side of Round Midnight (1986) Blue Note Records * Live at Carnegie Hall (1998), Columbia Records - Recorded in 1978 * Category:American composer Category:American jazz composer Category:American saxophonist Category:American jazz saxophonist